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Currently there are 8 AH-64 at Baghdad International airport. They are from 3rd Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, from Camp Buehring in Kuwait. They were used in attacks against IS near Fallujah.SquAdmin wrote:Does anyone know what's true about rumours that US Army is sending Apaches to join the battle?
The Hornets are travelling via Lajes. All the six a/c are known:maurits wrote:Yesterday 6 Canadian CF-188 Hornets left Cold Lake, Alberta heading east to Kuwait. According some pics from the CTVnews website two a/c could be identified: 188743 and 188775..
No further info where they will transit (possible Prestwick)..
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12/31/14 11:21 AM EST
A Jordanian official says the country has suspended military action against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) forces, as it seeks to get back one of its pilots who was captured by the terrorist group.
"This should not be a permanent decision, as I believe, but, perhaps, a kind of step back to think and reflect and get the deal done with," Rula Al Hroob, a Jordanian parliamentarian, told NPR on Tuesday.
First Lieutenant Moaz al-Kasasbeh was captured by ISIS after his F-16 fighter jet crashed in northern Syria on Dec. 24. Hroob said the capture has emboldened those in Jordan who oppose involvement in the war against ISIS.
31 December 2014 - 1:01pm
Jordan has suspended the Royal JORDANIAN Air Force operations of the international coalition against the terrorist group Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.
This was done to determine the causes of the collapse of the F-16 fighter over the city of Racca, the Jordanian newspaper "Arab al-Yaum" writes.
According to the publication, in the joint operational headquarters of the coalition a high-level commission has been established.
It must determine whether the Jordanian plane was shot down by a rocket on December 24 or crashed due to technical failure.
Jordanian military and representatives of the headquarters of the coalition said earlier that the fighter,
which was carrying out a combat mission and had attacked positions of IS units in Raqqa, crashed but was not shot down.
According to TASS, military experts believe that the pilot, flying away from ground anti-aircraft fire, could have made a sharp maneuver, resulting in loss of control.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9K32_Strela-2ISIS Attacks USAF’s A-10 Warthog Aircraft With Strela Missiles: Iraqi News
Friday, January 16, 2015 @ 10:46 AM
Airstrikes carried out by the US on ISIS positions using the A-10 Warthog aircraft killed and wounded a number of terrorists near the village of Sultan Abdullah near Moshul in Iraq at dawn yesterday, Iraqi News reported.
Quoting an unnamed source who witnessed the action,
the report said that the aircraft carried out four airstrikes sparking panic in the ranks of ISIS after flying close to the ground.
“Elements of the terrorist organization retaliated with 4 Strela missiles
but that did not cause the aircraft any damage,
prompting the remaining elements to leave the bodies of their dead and carry the wounded to escape towards the Shirqat district (120 km north of Tikrit), the report said.
The Strela is a Russian made shoulder fired surface to air missile intended to target the engines of aircraft.
Russia has exported it in large numbers to a number of Middle Eastern countries including Iraq.
5:02 a.m. EST January 19, 2015
WASHINGTON — The A-10 Warthog jet has performed 11 percent of US Air Force sorties against the Islamic State militant group, also known as ISIS,
according to service figures.
That number was first mentioned by Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James during a Jan. 15 address,
and confirmed by Air Force press affairs.
The 11 percent figure refers to the total number of manned sorties launched by the US Air Force in Iraq and Syria against IS forces since operations began in August.
The Air Force has carried out around 60 percent of the 16,000 total strikes against IS forces.
The remaining 40 percent has been carried out by the US Navy and allied nations.
During her speech, James stressed that while the A-10 is playing a crucial role, other aircraft are handling the bulk of the missions.
"There are a number of strike platforms, of course, that are engaged in it," she said. "[The] A-10 is one of it, but there's also F-16s, F-15s, and so forth. They're each contributing."
What's the total breakdown?
According to service figures, the F-16 fighter has been the most used aircraft, with 41 percent of sorties.
That is followed by the
F-15E at 37 percent, then the
A-10 at 11 percent,
the B-1 bomber at eight percent,
and the F-22,
which saw its first combat operation in the opening salvo against Is forces in Syria last Sept., at 3 percent.
DEFENSENEWS
USAF Leaders Offer FY16 Budget Hints
While the A-10 sortie use lags behind its faster cousins, there is an important caveat to that number.
The A-10 did not join operations until mid-November,
roughly three months after strikes began against IS targets in August.
For the A-10 to have hit 11 percent of overall sorties in half the time of the F-16 indicates a high usage rate of the Warthog.
The fact that the A-10 is being used so heavily against ISIS will undoubtedly be raised by those who support keeping the plane, known for its massive 30mm cannon and ability to go low and slow on the ground, from retirement.
But it is also unlikely to sway the Air Force's argument that while it likes the A-10, the funding used for the plane is needed for other priorities.
16 February 2015 Last updated at 09:58
Egypt bombs IS in Libya after beheadings video
'Jihadi John': US air strike targets Islamic State militant in Syria
45 minutes ago
The BBC's Laura Bicker said US intelligence services would be monitoring IS chatter on the dark web to try to determine if he had been killed in the attack
US forces have carried out an air strike targeting the British Islamic State militant known as "Jihadi John", the Pentagon has said.
Mohammed Emwazi, the Kuwaiti-born British militant, was the target of an attack near Raqqa, in Syria.
A worldwide hunt had been launched for Emwazi after he was seen in videos of the beheadings of Western hostages.
The Pentagon said it was still assessing whether Emwazi had been killed in the attack on Thursday.
A US official told the BBC the strike had been on a vehicle believed to be carrying Emwazi, whom the official said had been "tracked carefully over a period of time."
The Associated Press news agency reported a US official saying that a drone had been used in the attack.
Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said: "We are assessing the results of tonight's operation and will provide additional information as and where appropriate."
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: "We are aware of the US statement about the air strike targeting Mohammed Emwazi. Like them, we are not commenting further at this stage."
The F-15E's at Incirlik from the 493rd FS are 97-0218, 97-0220, 97-0222, 98-0131, 98-0133, 98-0134.maurits wrote:Update on USAFE assets at Incirlik, Turkey. 12 F-15C/Es from 48FW are deployed since Nov 6th and 12th: the following a/c are involved:
493FS F-15C: 84-0010,84-0027 ''493FS'', 86-0159,86-0172 and 86-0178/LN. 492FS F-15E: 91-0302 or 97-0218, 91-0303,97-0218,98-0131,98-0133,98-0134. Also some C-5B/Ms flights took place last week from EGUL to Incirlik, 83-1285 and 87-0031, 87-0035 were involved.
Sources: RAF Lakenheath/Incirlik Facebook pages and Mode-s /ADS-B logs.
Swedes will not send jets to help French fight Isis
Published: 11 Feb 2016 08:20 GMT+01:00
UPDATED: Leaked documents suggest the Swedish military can't afford to send Jas Gripen jets to support France's fight against Isis.
Sweden was quick to offer help after France reached out for support in the wake of the deadly terror attacks in Paris last November.
But documents seen by Swedish television network TV4 suggest that the Nordic country won't be sending any of its Jas Gripen jets to the Middle East.
According to the paperwork, the Swedish Armed Forces has concluded that it cannot spare the aircraft
unless the Swedish government pumps more money into its defence budget.
Sweden's largest opposition party, the centre-right Moderates has spent the past few months pushing for the jets to be used to assist France.
In December, the Social Democrat-Green coalition suggested it did not back the idea due to costs and "logistics" and this is expected to be confirmed later on Thursday, following the military's assessment.
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